Consumers have become accustomed to paper-filtered coffee. The paper-filtered coffee brewing process involves running hot water across fresh coffee grounds supported by a paper filter. The filter prevents the coffee grounds from entering the coffee tank. Thus, when the coffee is dispensed, it does not contain any coffee grounds. One problem with this use of paper filters, however, is that the paper filter also filters out the oils from the brewed coffee. The oils provide a significant amount of flavor to coffee. Thus, filtering out these oils is detrimental to the taste of the brewed coffee.
Nevertheless, consumers have become accustomed to coffee makers that require paper filters. They are a common fixture in restaurants and businesses where large servings of coffee are brewed. The paper filters allow for much of the mess of brewing the coffee to be removed. Namely, cleaning up used coffee grounds can be messy. Thus, taste has been sacrificed for ease of cleaning and ease of brewing.
One non-paper-filtered coffee maker that is used by a small segment of the coffee drinking population is the manual French Press coffee maker. This type of coffee maker does not utilize a paper filter. As a result, it has a reputation for being a messy way of making coffee. However, it does allow the user to make very good tasting coffee because no paper filters are used. Thus, the taste enhancing oils are not filtered out and form part of the brewed coffee. French press coffee makers are typically manufactured as small volume units. Thus, they are limited to personal use and are not suited to produce large batches of coffee used in commercial settings. Part of the reason for this is that commercial settings prefer easy to clean coffee makers and French press coffee makers have the reputation of being difficult to clean.